Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

ADHD Appears To Increase Level Of Nicotine Dependence In Smokers

Date:

October 23, 2008

Source:

Massachusetts General Hospital

Summary:

Young people with ADHD are not only at increased risk of starting to smoke cigarettes, they also tend to become more seriously addicted to tobacco and more vulnerable to environmental factors such as having friends or parents who smoke. The report also found that individuals with more ADHD-related symptoms, even those without the full syndrome, are at greater risk of becoming dependent on nicotine than those with fewer symptoms.

Share This

Young people with ADHD are not only at increased risk of starting to smoke cigarettes, they also tend to become more seriously addicted to tobacco and more vulnerable to environmental factors such as having friends or parents who smoke, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital reseachers.

Related Articles

The report in the Journal of Pediatrics also found that individuals with more ADHD-related symptoms, even those who don't have the full syndrome, are at greater risk of becoming dependent on nicotine than those with fewer symptoms.

"Knowing that ADHD increases the risk of more serious nicotine addiction stresses the importance of prevention efforts aimed at adolescents and their families," says Timothy Wilens, MD, director of the Substance Abuse Program in the MGH Pediatric Psychopharmacology Department, who led the study. "It also gives us clues about how the neurotransmitter systems involved in ADHD and tobacco use may be interacting."

Several studies have shown young people with ADHD are more like to smoke and to start smoking at an earlier age. The current investigation was designed to examine whether ADHD also increases the severity of nicotine dependence. Participants were taken from two long-term studies – one in boys and the other in girls – that analyzed a variety of factors in children and adolescents with ADHD compared with a matched control group. Participants completed a standardized questionnaire evaluating smoking history and levels of tobacco dependence in current smokers. Responses from 80 participants with ADHD and 86 controls, all ranging from age 15 to 25, were available for analysis.

While 69 percent of participants with ADHD had ever smoked and 41 percent were current smokers, only 44 percent of controls had ever smoked, with 17 currently smoking. Smokers with ADHD began using tobacco about a year and a half sooner than did control group members, and moderate or higher levels of nicotine dependence were reported by 21 percent of AHDH participants but less than 1 percent of controls.

The two larger studies in which participants enrolled had included assessments of psychiatric symptoms, including those associated with ADHD. For both participants with ADHD and the controls, the more ADHD-related symptoms such as prominent inattention, distraction, overactivity or impulsivity the smokers had, the more serious their dependence on nicotine. A similar increase in tobacco dependence was associated with living with a smoker or having a parent or friend who smoked in ADHD participants but not in controls, implying that the vulnerability to smoking bestowed by ADHD was amplified by environmental factors, Wilens explains.

The study's findings also suggests biological mechanisms that may underlie both ADHD and nicotine dependence. "We've already shown that nicotine-based medications can treat ADHD symptoms, and it's known that the children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are at greater risk of ADHD," Wilens says. "It looks like interplay between the dopamine system, more substantially related to ADHD and addiction, and the cholinergic system related to smoking is probably important. Further investigations of the neurobiological aspects and potential issues of self-medication should help us better understand what is going on." Wilens is an associate professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Co-authors of the Journal of Pediatrics article are Michael Vitulano, Joel Adamson, Robert Sawtelle, Linsey Utzinger and Joseph Biederman, MD, of the MGH Pediatric Psychopharmacology Program; and Himanshu Upadhyaya, MD, Medical University of South Carolina. The study was supported in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Wilens has received grant support for other studies from Abbott, Lilly, McNeil, Merck, National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Drug Abuse) and Shire; he is a speaker for McNeil, Novartis and Shire; and serves as a consultant for Abbott, McNeil, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck, NIDA, Novartis, and Shire.

More From ScienceDaily

More Health & Medicine News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — New assays can detect malaria parasites in human blood at very low levels and might be helpful in the campaign to eradicate malaria, reports a new study. An international team led by Ingrid Felger, ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Adults over the age of 30 only catch flu about twice a decade, a new study suggests. So, while it may feel like more, flu-like illness can be caused by many pathogens, making it difficult to assess ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — No significant change in home habits of smokers have been observed in the aftermath of a ban on smoking in public spaces, researchers report. Greater inspiration to kick the habit likely comes from ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Heart function has been associated with the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease through a new study. Participants with decreased heart function, measured by cardiac index, were two to ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Children of recently separated or divorced families are likelier to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than children in families where the parents are married, putting them at higher risk for obesity ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Gastric bypass and similar stomach-shrinking surgeries are a popular option for obese patients looking to lose weight or treat type 2 diabetes. While the surgeries have been linked to a decreased ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Most people consume more salt than they need and therefore have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the two leading causes of death worldwide. But a new study reveals that dietary ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Twice as many children born to mothers who took antibiotics during pregnancy were diagnosed with asthma by age 3 than children born to mothers who didn’t take prenatal antibiotics, a new study has ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Although sedatives are often administered before surgery, a randomized trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before ... full story

Featured Videos

Mom Triumphs Over Tragedy, Helps Other Families

AP (Mar. 3, 2015) — After her son, Dax, died from a rare form of leukemia, Julie Locke decided to give back to the doctors at St. Jude Children&apos;s Research Hospital who tried to save his life. She raised $1.6M to help other patients and their families. (March 3)
Video provided by AP

Looted and Leaking, South Sudan's Oil Wells Pose Health Risk

AFP (Mar. 3, 2015) — Thick black puddles and a looted, leaking ruin are all that remain of the Thar Jath oil treatment facility, once a crucial part of South Sudan&apos;s mainstay industry. Duration: 01:13
Video provided by AFP

Woman Convicted of Poisoning Son

AP (Mar. 3, 2015) — A woman who blogged for years about her son&apos;s constant health woes was convicted Monday of poisoning him to death by force-feeding heavy concentrations of sodium through his stomach tube. (March 3)
Video provided by AP

Related Stories

Dec. 9, 2014 — E-cigarettes appear to be less addictive than cigarettes in former smokers and this could help improve understanding of how various nicotine delivery devices lead to dependence, according to ... full story

May 14, 2014 — Individuals prenatally exposed to tobacco smoke exhibited weaker response in some regions of the brain while processing a task that measures inhibition control (the ability to control inappropriate ... full story

May 12, 2014 — Treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with stimulant medication may reduce smoking risk, especially when medication is taken consistently, according to an analysis. ADHD is a ... full story

June 13, 2011 — Exposure to secondhand smoke can create symptoms of nicotine dependence in non-smoking preteens, according to a new study. The study also found that tweens who repeatedly observe a parent, sibling, ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.